Taylor Swift thanks poncho-wearing Swifties after they waited hours in the rain at Anfield for her 100th Eras Tour show – and confirms end date for ‘exhausting’ record-breaking run of gigs

Taylor Swift thanked her fans for braving the rain all day and breaking the all-time attendance record at Anfield Stadium as she kicked off her three-day stint in Liverpool tonight for the latest leg of her Eras Tour.

The Liverpool FC stadium was transformed into a sea of pink and red after many devoted Swift fans – known as Swifties – waited for hours in plastic ponchos to protect themselves from the dreary weather.

The American superstar began performing in front of a 53,000-strong crowd at 7pm tonight following a performance by the band Paramore.

Taylor, wearing a pink bejewelled bodysuit on stage, told fans: ‘I’m so excited. What you’ve already done here is crazy, because it has been raining all day; you have braved the rain; you came here ready to drape yourselves in plastic; you’ve been standing here; you’ve been ready for the show.’

She added: ‘I just want to say, those things means the world to us – getting to play this show for people who would go so far above and beyond for us, and welcome us to Liverpool in such a fashion. We love you so much.

‘And you know, while I was walking to the stage they pulled me aside and told me another thing that you’ve done for us tonight. And that thing is that you broke the all-time attendance record for this stadium tonight.’

Taylor also acknowledged that tonight marks the 100th show of the ‘exhausting’ Eras Tour, which she said will end in December.

‘You know, this is actually the 100th show of the tour,’ the singer told the audience.

‘Absolutely, that blows my mind. That doesn’t feel like a real statistic to me, because this has definitely been the most exhausting, all-encompassing, but most joyful, most rewarding, most wonderful thing that has ever happened in my life, this tour.’

Taylor said the 100th show marked the first time she has admitted to herself ‘that this tour is going to end in December, like that’s it’.

‘I think this tour has really become my entire life,’ the 34-year-old continued. ‘It has taken over everything.